Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has begun official talks on forming a new government by meeting with leaders of his United List alliance and its current coalition partners, the National Alliance and New Unity, LETA reports. Kulbergs said that the parties had reached a consensus on improving public administration, reviewing ministry functions, and putting public…
Employee optimism about wage growth is waning in the Baltic States, according to Citadele Bank’s Purchasing Barometer survey in August 2025, BNS reports. The survey showed that 15% of Lithuanian workers expect a pay rise in the next three months, compared to 12% in Latvia and just 6% in Estonia. Meanwhile, 10% of workers in…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments mandating the country’s largest banks to provide in-person customer service and to maintain a network of ATMs outside big cities as of 2026, LSM reported. The new rules will apply to Swedbank, SEB, Citadele, and Luminor. Currently, the big banks have no permanent customer service points in…
The Latvia-based commercial bank, Citadele, posted a net profit of EUR 50.9mn in the Baltic States in the first half of 2024, which was down 21% from EUR 64.5mn in the same period of 2023, bne IntelliNews reports. The bank’s operating income rose by 2% to EUR 116.1mn, with interest revenue increasing by 9% to…
Representatives from Lithuania’s five largest commercial banks — Citadele, Luminor, OP Corporate Bank, SEB Bank, and Swedbank — met with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte to express dissatisfaction with the extension of the windfall tax on bank profits, BNS reports. They voiced concerns over the unpredictability of the investment environment and the lack of cooperation between…
Latvia’s industrial production declined by 4.5% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. Output in manufacturing decreased by 4.5%, in electricity and gas supply by 0.8%, and in mining by 19% over a year. The drop in manufacturing output was the largest annual decline since 2009. Martins Abolins, economist…
Retailers in Estonia expect declining sales in the first half of 2024 amid lower consumer confidence, ERR reports. Many consumers plan to go shopping in neighbouring countries due to the rise in the VAT rate from 20% to 22% as of 1 January 2024, according to a Norstat poll for Citadele bank, BNS reports. The…
